Watershed- and Regional-Scale Contamination

Locations of Toxics Program Watershed- and Regional-Scale Contamination Investigations (Click on map for larger version) Field experiment designed to compare survival of trout fry (newly hatched fish) exposed to constant versus varying metal concentrations, High Ore Creek, Mont. Water stored in the streamside tanks was used to refresh plastic containers in the stream. Water in the tanks had high, medium, or low metal concentrations. The fourth tank contained metal-free water used as an experimental control -- from the Abandoned Hard-Rock Mining Photo Gallery

The Toxics Program conducts watershed- and regional-scale investigations of legacy, current, and emerging contaminants affecting aquatic ecosystems from common types of nonpoint and distributed point-source contamination. More about watershed- and regional-scale contamination investigations

Watershed Contamination from Hard-Rock Mining

Pesticide Contamination in Varied Pesticide-Use Settings

Emerging Contaminants in the Environment

Mercury in Aquatic Ecosystems

Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative

Priority Ecosystem Studies

Complete listing of watershed and regional scale investigations and projects >>

Other Watershed- and Regional-Scale Investigations

• Fate of Organic Compounds in River Systems, Lower Calcasieu River, Louisiana [Completed]
• Management Systems Evaluation Areas, Upper Midwest (Corn Belt) [Completed]
• Nonpoint-Source Ground-Water Contamination in Relation to Land Use [Completed]
• National Irrigation Water Quality Program (NIWQP) [Completed]

Watershed- and Regional-Scale Contamination Information

• Index of Bibliographies from Point-Source Investigations
• Index of Photo Galleries for Watershed- and Regional-Scale Contamination Investigations
• Crosscutting Topics Related to Watershed- and Regional-Scale Contamination
• Agricultural Chemicals — Occurrence and fate of chemicals used for agriculture
• Contaminant Occurrence Studies — Large-scale studies of the occurrence and distribution of new contaminants in the environment
• Nutrients — Fate and effects of nutrients in the environment
• Surface-Water Contaminant Transport — Research on the transport and fate of contaminants in surface water
• Unsaturated Zone — Contaminant transport and fate in the unsaturated zone
• Selected Fact Sheets on Watershed- and Regional-Scale Contamination
• Water quality in the Blue River Basin, Kansas City metropolitan area, Missouri and Kansas, July 1998 to October 2004: USGS Fact Sheet 2006-3103.
• Wastewater chemicals in Colorado's streams and ground water: USGS Fact Sheet 2004-3127.
• Trends in the water budget of the Mississippi River basin, 1949-1997: USGS Fact Sheet 2005-3020.
• Is septic waste affecting drinking water from shallow domestic wells along the Platte River in eastern Nebraska?: USGS Fact Sheet 072-03.
• Linking selenium sources to ecosystems--San Francisco Bay-Delta model: USGS Fact Sheet 2004-3091.
• Water quality of the Boulder Creek watershed, Colorado: USGS Fact Sheet 043-03.
• Mercury in stream ecosystems--New studies initiated by the U.S. Geological Survey: USGS Fact Sheet 016-03.
• Occurrence of antibiotics in water from fish hatcheries: USGS Fact Sheet 120-02.
• Glacial ice cores reveal a record of natural and anthropogenic atmospheric mercury deposition for the last 270 years: USGS Fact Sheet FS-051-02.
• Pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic wastewater contaminants in U.S. streams: USGS Fact Sheet FS-027-02.
• Malformed frogs in Minnesota--An update: USGS Fact Sheet FS-043-01.
• Nitrogen in the Mississippi Basin--Estimating sources and predicting flux to the Gulf of Mexico: USGS Fact Sheet 135-00.
• Mercury contamination from historic gold mining in California: USGS Fact Sheet FS-061-00.
• Discharge of herbicides from the Mississippi River Basin to the Gulf of Mexico, 1991-97: USGS Fact Sheet FS-163-98.
• Occurrence of cotton pesticides in surface water of the Mississippi Embayment: USGS Fact Sheet FS-022-98.
• Herbicides in rain fall across the Midwestern and Northeastern United States, 1990-91: USGS Fact Sheet FS-181-97.
• Herbicides in Midwestern reservoir outflows, 1992-93: USGS Fact Sheet FS-134-98.
• Herbicides in ground water of the Midwest--A regional study of shallow aquifers, 1991-94: USGS Fact Sheet FS-076-98.
• A reconnaissance for sulfonylurea herbicides in waters of the Midwestern USA: An example of collaboration between the public and private sectors: USGS Fact Sheet FS-046-98.
• Methods to identify areas susceptible to irrigation-induced selenium contamination in the Western United States: USGS Fact Sheet FS-O38-97.
• Source characterization of disinfection byproduct precursors in two Arkansas water-supply reservoirs: USGS Fact Sheet 118-97.
• Agricultural chemicals in Iowa's ground water, 1982-95 -- What are the trends: USGS Fact Sheet FS-116-97.
• Are walleye from Lake Roosevelt contaminated with mercury?: USGS Fact Sheet FS-102-97.
• Vulnerability of public drinking water supplies in New Jersey to pesticides: USGS Fact Sheet FS-165-96.
• Using Geochemical and Statistical Tools to Identify Irrigated Areas that Might Contain High Selenium Concentrations in Surface Water: USGS Fact Sheet FS-O77-96.
• Mercury Contamination of Aquatic Ecosystems: USGS Fact Sheet FS-216-95.

Meetings and Conferences

• USGS and Colorado State University co-sponsor EmCon2009-2nd International Conference on Occurrence, Fate, Effects, and Analysis of Emerging Contaminants in the Environment, Fort Collins, Colorado, August 4-7, 2009
• USGS is co-sponsoring the short course Environmental Fate and Effects of Emerging Contaminants at the SETAC North America 29th Annual Meeting, Tampa, Florida, November 16-20, 2008
• USGS and the University of Wisconsin-Madison are cosponsoring the joint session A Celebration of Soil Science, Solute Transport, and National-Scale Water-Quality Research: In Honor of Jacob Rubin at the 2008 Joint Annual Meeting, Houston, Texas, October 5-9, 2008

New Publications

Upcoming Publications

• Acid rock drainage and climate change: Nordstrom, D.K., Journal of Geochemical Exploration, doi:10.1016/j.gexplo.2008.08.002 (IN PRESS).
• A comparison of methyl mercury production and distribution in sediments of the Congaree and Edisto River Basins, South Carolina: Chapelle, F.H., Journey, C.A., and Bradley, P.M., U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report (IN PRESS).
• Comparison of wastewater chemicals, bacteria concentrations, and bacterial pathogen genes as indicators of fecal pollution: Haack, S.K., Duris, J.W., Fogarty, L.R., Kolpin, D.W., Focazio, M.J., Meyer, M.T., and Furlong, E.T., Journal of Environmental Quality (IN PRESS).
• Corbula amurensis: Thompson, J.K., in Invasive Species Compendium, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, CABI (IN PRESS).
• The effect of grain-coating mineralogy on the storage and transport of nitrate and sulfate in the unsaturated zone: Reilly, T.J., Fishman, N.S., and Baehr, A.L., Vadose Zone Journal (IN PRESS).
• An empirical method for estimating instream pre-mining pH and dissolved Cu concentration in catchments with acidic drainage and ferricrete: Nimick, D.A., Gurrieri, J.T., and Furniss, G., Applied Geochemistry, doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2008.11.007 (IN PRESS).
• Environmental factors affecting mercury in Camp Far West Reservoir, 2001-03: Alpers, C.N., Stewart, A.R., Saiki, M.K., Marvin-DiPasquale, M., Topping, B.R., Rider, K.M., Gallanthine, S.K., Kester, C.A., Rye, R.O., Antweiler, R.C., and DeWild, J.F., U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2006-5008 (IN PRESS).
• An Eulerian-Lagrangian numerical scheme for simulating streams with advection, dispersion, and transient storage in streams and a comparison of numerical methods: Cox, T.J., and Runkel, R.L., Journal of Environmental Engineering (IN PRESS).
• Fate of consumer product chemicals in the subsurface environment--25 Years of research on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA: Barber, L.B., in Hill, M.C., ed., Groundwater Quality 2007--Securing Groundwater Quality in Urban and Industrial Environments: International Association of Hydrological Sciences IAHS Redbook (IN PRESS).
• Interpretation of a transient storage model of stream solute transport applied to overlapping spatial scales: Gooseff, M.N., Briggs, M.A., Bencala, K.E., McGlynn, B.L., and Scott, D.T., Limnology and Oceanography--Methods (IN PRESS).
• Metal contamination and post-remediation recovery in the Boulder River watershed, Jefferson County, Montana: Unruh, D.M., Church, S.E., Fey, D.L., and Nimick, D.A., Geochemistry--Exploration, Environment, Analysis (IN PRESS).
• Multi-residue method for the analysis of 85 current-use and legacy pesticides in bed and suspended sediments: Smalling, K.L., and Kuivila, K.M., Journal of Chromatography A (IN PRESS).
• Naturally acidic surface and ground waters draining porphyry-related mineralized areas of the Southern Rocky Mountains, Colorado and New Mexico: Verplanck, P.L., Nordstrom, D.K., Plumlee, G.S., Bove, D.J., and Runkel, R.L., Applied Geochemistry (IN PRESS).
• Occurrence of organic wastewater compounds in the Tinkers Creek watershed and two other tributaries to the Cuyahoga River, Northeast Ohio: Tertuliani, J.S., Alvarez, D.S., Furlong, E.T., Meyer, M.T., Zaugg, S.D., and Koltun, G.F., U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5173, 60 p (IN PRESS).
• One-dimensional transport with equilibrium chemistry (OTEQ)--A reactive transport model for streams and rivers: Runkel, R.L., U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods book 6, chapter B6 (IN PRESS).
• Shallow water processes govern system-wide phytoplankton bloom dynamics--A field study: Thompson, J.K., Koseff, J.R., Monismith, S.G., and Lucas, L.V., Journal of Marine Systems, doi:10.1016/j.jmarsys.2007.12.006 (Corrected proof) (IN PRESS).
• Shallow water processes govern system-wide phytoplankton bloom dynamics--A modeling study: Lucas, L.V., Koseff, J.R., Monismith, S.G., and Thompson, J.K., Journal of Marine Systems, doi:10.1016/j.jmarsys.2008.07.011 (Corrected Proof) (IN PRESS).
• Subsurface fate and transport of 4-nonylphenol, 17Β-estradiol, and sulfamethoxazole: Barber, L.B., Meyer, M.T., LeBlanc, D.R., Kolpin, D.W., Bradley, P.M., Chapelle, F.H., and Rubio, F., in Hill, M.C., ed., Groundwater Quality 2007--Securing Groundwater Quality in Urban and Industrial Environments: International Association of Hydrological Sciences IAHS Redbook (IN PRESS).
• Topographic controls on hillslope-riparian-stream water table continuity in a set of nested catchments, Northern Rocky Mountains, Montana: Jencso, K., McGlynn, B., Gooseff , M.N., Bencala, K.E., and Wondzell, S.M., Water Resources Research (IN PRESS).
• The use of fluoride as a natural tracer and the relationship to geologic features--Examples from the Animas River Watershed, San Juan Mountains, Colorado: Bove, D.J., Walton-Day, K., and Kimball, B.A., Geochemistry--Exploration, Environment, and Analysis (IN PRESS).
• Wastewater effluent, combined sewer overflows, and other sources of organic compounds to Lake Champlain: Phillips, P.J., and Chalmers, A.T., Journal of the American Water Works Association (IN PRESS).

Newly Published

• Diel changes in metal concentrations in a geogenically acidic river--Rio Agrio, Argentina: Parker, S.R., Gammons, C.H., Pedrozo, F.L., and Wood, S.A., 2008, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 178, no. 2, p. 213-223, doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2008.06.029.
• Influence of plankton mercury dynamics and trophic pathways on mercury concentrations of top predator fish of a mining-impacted reservoir: Stewart, A.R., Saiki, M.K., Kuwabara, J.S., Alpers, C.N., Marvin-DiPasquale, M., and Krabbenhoft, D.P., 2008, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, v. 65, no. 11, p. 2,351-2,366.
• A national reconnaissance of pharmaceuticals and other organic wastewater contaminants in the United States--II. Untreated drinking water sources: Focazio, M.J., Kolpin, D.W., Barnes, K.K., Furlong, E.T., Meyer, M.T., Zaugg, S.D., Barber, L.B., and Thurman, E.M., 2008, Science of the Total Environment, v. 402, no. 2-3, p. 201-216, doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.02.021.
• A national reconnaissance of pharmaceuticals and other organic wastewater contaminants in the United States--I. Groundwater: Barnes, K.K., Kolpin, D.W., Furlong, E.T., Zaugg, S.D., Meyer, M.T., and Barber, L.B., 2008, Science of the Total Environment, v. 402, no. 2-3, p. 192-200, doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.04.028.
• Comparison of two cell lysis procedures for recovery of microcystins in water samples from Silver Lake in Dover, Delaware, with microcystin producing cyanobacterial accumulations: Loftin, K.A., Meyer, M.T., Rubio, F., Kamp, L., Humphries, E., and Whereat, E., 2008, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2008-1341, 9 p.
• A multi-disciplinary approach to the removal of emerging contaminants in municipal wastewater treatment plans in New York State, 2003-2004: Phillips, P.J., Stinson, B., Zaugg, S.D., Furlong, E.T., Kolpin, D.W., Esposito, K.M., Bodniewicz, B., Pape, R., and Anderson, J., 2008, Clearwaters, v. 38, no. 3, p. 48-59.
• Understanding the occurrence and transport of current-use pesticides in the San Francisco Estuary watershed: Kuivila, K.M., and Hladik, M.L., 2008, San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science, v. 6, no. 3, Article 2.
• Occurrence of organic wastewater compounds in the Tinkers Creek Watershed and two other tributaries to the Cuyahoga River, Northeast Ohio: Tertuliani, J.S., Alvarez, D.A., Furlong, E.T., Meyer, M.T., Zaugg, S.D., and Koltun, G.F., 2008, U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5173, 60 p.
• Mercury, trace elements and organic constituents in atmospheric fine particulate matter, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, USA--A combined approach to sampling and analysis: Kolker, A., Engle, M.A., Orem, W.H., Bunnell, J.E., Lerch, H.E., Krabbenhoft, D.P., Olson, M.L., and McCord, J.D., 2008, Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research, v. 32, no. 3, p. 279-293, doi:10.1111/j.1751-908X.2008.00913.x.
• Bioaccumulation of pharmaceuticals and other anthropogenic waste indicators in earthworms from agricultural soil amended with biosolid or swine manure: Kinney, C.A., Furlong, E.T., Kolpin, D.W., Burkhardt, M.R., Zaugg, S.D., Werner, S.L., Bossio, J.P., and Benotti, M.J., 2008, Environmental Science and Technology, v. 42, no. 6, p. 1863-1870, doi:10.1021/es702304c.
• Chemical contaminants, health indicators, and reproductive biomarker responses in fish from rivers in the Southeastern United States: Hinck, J., Blazer, V., Denslow, N., Echols, K., Gale, R., Wieser, C., May, T., Ellersieck, M., Coyle, J., and Tillitt, D., 2008, Science of the Total Environment, v. 390, no. 2-3, p. 538-557, doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2007.10.026.
• Comparison of total mercury and methylmercury cycling at five sites using the small watershed approach: Shanley, J.B., Mast, A.M., Campbell, D.H., Aiken, G.R., Krabbenhoft, D.P., Hunt, R.J., Walker, J.F., Schuster, P.F., Chalmers, A., Aulenbach, B.T., Peters, N.E., Marvin-DiPasquale, M., Clow, D.W., and Shafer, M.M., 2008, Environmental Pollution, v. 154, no. 1, p. 143-154, doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2007.12.031.
• Complex seasonal patterns of primary producers at the land–sea interface: Cloern, J.E., and Jassby, A.D., 2008, Ecology Letters, doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2008.01244.x (Advanced Web release).
• Exposure of insects and insectivorous birds to metals and other elements from abandoned mine tailings in three Summit County drainages, Colorado: Custer, C.M., Yang, C., Crock, J.G., Shearn-Bochsler, V., Smith, K.S., and Hageman, P.L., 2008, doi:10.1007/s10661-008-0346-y (Advanced Web release).
• Impairment of the reproductive potential of male fathead minnows by environmentally relevant exposures to 4-nonylphenol: Schoenfuss, H.L., Bartell, S.E., Bistodeau, T.B., Cediel, R.A., Grove, K.J., Zintek, L., Lee, K.E., and Barber, L.B., 2008, Aquatic Toxicology, v. 86, no. 1, p. 91-98, doi:10.1016/j.aquatox.2007.10.004.
• Influence of natural dissolved organic carbon on the bioavailability of mercury to a freshwater alga: Gorski, P.R., Armstrong, D.E., Hurley, J.P., and Krabbenhoft, D.P., 2008, Environmental Pollution, v. 154, no. 1, p. 116-123 doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2007.12.004.
• Mercury and organic carbon dynamics during runoff episodes from a northeastern USA watershed: Schuster, P., Shanley, J., Marvin-Dipasquale, M., Reddy, M., Aiken, G., Roth, D., Taylor, H., Krabbenhoft, D., and DeWild, J., 2008, Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, v. 187, no. 1, p. 89-108, doi:10.1007/s11270-007-9500-3.
• Metals fate and transport modelling in streams and watersheds--State of the science and USEPA workshop review: Caruso, B.S., Cox, T.J., Runkel, R.L., Velleux, M.L., Bencala, K.E., Nordstrom, D.K., Julien, P.Y., Butler, B.A., Alpers, C.N., Marion, A., and Smith, K.S., 2008, Hydrologic Processes, v. 22, no. 19, p. 4011-4021, doi:10.1002/hyp.7114.
• A note on the effect of wind waves on vertical mixing in Franks Tract, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California: Jones, N.L., Thompson, J.K., and Monismith, S.G., 2008, San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science, v. 6, no. 2, p. article 4.
• The occurrence of glyphosate, atrazine, and other pesticides in vernal pools and adjacent streams in Washington, DC, Maryland, Iowa, and Wyoming, 2005–2006: Battaglin, W.A., Rice, K.C., Focazio, M.J., Salmons, S., and Barry, R.X., 2008, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, doi:10.1007/s10661-008-0435-y (Advanced Web release).
• Primary production and carrying capacity of former salt ponds after reconnection to San Francisco Bay: Thébault, J., Schraga, T.S., Cloern, J.E., and Dunleavy, E.G., 2008, Wetlands, v. 28, no. 3, p. 841-851, doi:10.1672/07-190.1.
• Utilization of protein expression profiles as indicators of environmental impairment of smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) from the Shenandoah River, Virginia, USA: Ripley, J., Iwanowicz, L., Blazer, V., and Foran, C., 2008, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, v. 27, no. 8, p. 1756-1767, doi:10.1897/07-588.1.
• Wetlands as principal zones of methylmercury production in southern Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico region: Hall, B.D., Aiken, G.R., Krabbenhoft, D.P., Marvin-DiPasquale, M., and Swarzenski, C.M., 2008, Environmental Pollution, v. 154, no. 1, p. 124-134, doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2007.12.017.
• What was the groundwater quality before mining in a mineralized region? Lessons from the Questa Project: Nordstrom, D.K., 2008, Journal of Geosciences, v. 12, no. 2, p. 139-149.